NFC East: brian banks

Yo. Thanks to all who joined in the live video mailbag yesterday. Went a lot better this time (since, you know, it actually went). You can see part of the replay here. We still have no idea why Vokle only recorded the first 18:50 of an approximately 35-minute chat, but I hope those who were there enjoyed it and those who weren't see something in the replay that convinced them to try it next time. This morning, we are back to the old reliable links.

The Cowboys gave away the division to the Giants last December because they couldn't defend the pass, and Jerry Jones says that's why they're not trading disgruntled cornerback Mike Jenkins no matter how many times he asks. The Cowboys are attacking their biggest problem with numbers, and Jones says the inspiration is the way the Giants loaded up on pass-rushers last year. Jones and the Cowboys have been unashamed of talking about the extent to which they believe imitating the Giants is the path to success.

Mathias Kiwanuka, who recently got a contract extension from the Giants, says he understands why Osi Umenyiora is skipping offseason workouts in protest of his own contract. Kiwanuka said Umenyiora "has been under contract in a bad deal for years now," and that he's not upset that Umenyiora cited Kiwanuka's contract in recent complaints about the fact that he hasn't been offered what he believes the team should have offered him.

Earlier this week, Sheil Kapadia took at look at Michael Vick's batted-pass numbers from 2011 and concluded that there were obviously too many. The easy explanation most people offer for this is Vick's height, but as Sheil points out, Drew Brees is no taller and he hardly ever has a pass batted down. The height thing is a popular misconception, since there's really no quarterback tall enough to throw over linemen consistently and everyone throws through passing lanes. So I think the batted-ball numbers say less about Vick's height than they do about his ability to read the field. That's got to improve, because he's certainly not going to get any taller.

Jason Babin missed OTAs last week because he was bear hunting in Alaska and couldn't get back in time. Yeah, same Jason Babin who plans to run with the bulls in Pamplona later this year. Interesting guy. As a bonus, if you click the link to that story, you can see a photo of Jason Kelce with his beard painted pink. Offseason, you know.

Rick Reilly wrote of Brian Banks, a one-time stud-prospect linebacker who was wrongly convicted of rape and lost 10 years of his life to someone else's lie and mistake. Now exonerated and 26 years old, Banks is still hoping to play in the NFL, and the Redskins are one of four teams that Rick says have called to offer him a tryout.

Rick Snider says Robert Griffin III will be the Redskins' best quarterback since Sonny Jurgensen retired in 1974, which really puts the whole thing in perspective. No pressure, Robert ...